WASHINGTON — The U.S. Postal Service is ringing in the new year with an expedited package delivery service that provides a simpler way to ship to regional destinations. Designed for commercial shippers, Priority Mail Regional Rate Boxes are an affordable solution for package shipments requiring fast delivery over shorter distances.

“Regional Rate Boxes are designed with commercial package shippers in mind,” said Gary Reblin, vice president, Shipping Services. “They have great potential for shippers requiring expedited delivery and cost-effective pricing for small and dense packages within smaller delivery areas.”

Introduced Jan. 2, Priority Mail Regional Rate Boxes are available to Priority Mail Commercial Base and Commercial Plus customers shipping small and dense packages in domestic zones 1 through 4. Postal Service-produced packaging is required, which can be ordered at usps.com/shop.

The two Regional Rate Box types (offered in top-loaded or side-loaded options) have an alpha identifier for each type, A or B. Pricing for Priority Mail Regional Rate Boxes is based on the box that is used and the destination zone. Regional Rate Box A has a 15-pound maximum weight limit and starts at $4.97. Regional Rate Box B has a 20-pound maximum weight limit and starts at $5.81.

The new offering also can be used with Merchandise Return Service (MRS) parcels returned at Priority Mail prices.

Priority Mail Commercial Base prices are 6.6 percent lower on average than retail prices, and Priority Mail Commercial Plus prices are 13.6 percent lower on average than retail prices. For more information, customers can contact their Postal Service account manager or the Office of Commercial Pricing at commercialpricing@usps.gov. Background information and pricing for Priority Mail Regional Rate Boxes is available at usps.com/shipping/regionalratebox.

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A self-supporting government enterprise, the U.S. Postal Service is the only delivery service that reaches every address in the nation, 150 million residences, businesses and Post Office Boxes. The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses, and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations. With 32,000 retail locations and the most frequently visited website in the federal government, usps.com, the Postal Service has annual revenue of more than $67 billion and delivers nearly 40 percent of the world’s mail. If it were a private sector company, the U.S. Postal Service would rank 29th in the 2010 Fortune 500. Black Enterprise and Hispanic Business magazines ranked the Postal Service as a leader in workforce diversity. The Postal Service has been named the Most Trusted Government Agency six consecutive years and the sixth Most Trusted Business in the nation by the Ponemon Institute.